This invention relates to a toothbrush of the type of those including in their handle a toothpaste reservoir and a pump which when being manually actuated impels the toothpaste from the reservoir towards outlets being defined in the head member being provided with brush bristles.
Several toothbrush models are known at present which include a toothpaste reservoir being generally arranged in the hollow handle of the toothbrush, and means being provided for dispensing said toothpaste through orifices being defined in the head member being provided with the brush bristles.
In one of these toothbrushes the very hollow handle serves as the toothpaste reservoir, said toothpaste being impelled towards the head member by means of a pusher device being provided on the handle.
In other toothbrushes the hollow handle is semirigid and comprises in its inside a reservoir which when being pressed expels the toothpaste towards the head member.
Other toothbrushes comprise a head member carrying piece and a toothpaste reservoir housed in the handle, and between them a pump is arranged which when being actuated impels the toothpaste.
In the known toothbrushes of the above-mentioned type a cannula is attached to the rear nipple of the pump, the toothpaste reservoir being apt to at its open top be fitted to the rear portion of the pump, the cannula being thus housed inside the reservoir.
When in these toothbrushes the reservoir has run out of toothpaste said reservoir is removed in order to insert a new reservoir with a refill of toothpaste into the handle of the toothbrush. Due to the presence of toothpaste remains in the cannula this operation turns out to be annoying for the user since the toothpaste remains drip therefrom and thus soil the user""s hands and the place having been chosen to carry out the replacement of the reservoir.
This latter is the toothbrush type being improved by the present invention
The toothbrush being the object of the invention is of the type comprising an outer body and a top cap, said outer body defining a head member with the bristles fixed on it, and a rear hollow portion by way of handle housing a toothpaste reservoir and a pump being provided to impel the toothpaste towards the base of the bristles, said toothbrush having a number of design peculiarities whose purpose is to facilitate the actuation of the pump in order to obtain an additional toothpaste delivery with no need for the user to stop the teeth brushing operation, which is what must be done in the case of the known toothbrushes.
One of the main characteristics of this invention consists in the fact that the pump actuating means are formed by an outer push being slidably mounted on the toothbrush portion forming the handle.
Said push has means being provided to allow to slidably mount it on an opening defined in the very handle of the toothbrush, and means being provided to allow it to engage the pump body, in such a way that when sliding the push the pump is actuated and a certain quantity of toothpaste is thus impelled towards the base of the bristles.
The incorporation of this push and its arrangement in the forward region of the handle allow the user to actuate it with one finger to thus obtain an additional quantity of toothpaste while he or she is using the toothbrush.
At the rear lateral sides this push is provided with two legs extending from a backwardly located appendage of said push and together with said appendage forming a U-shaped cavity being engageable with the open section of a piece being fitted on the pump.
The main body of the toothbrush comprises an intermediary length having an initial, straight portion whose cross-section is sensibly smaller than that of the handle thus allowing to fit the top cap to said initial, straight portion, and a final portion taperingly decreasing its cross-section towards the head member.
The portion of the toothbrush forming the handle is of sufficient length to house in its inside a toothpaste reservoir being provided to be pressure fitted to the backward region of the pump.
The replaceable reservoir or refill for this kind of toothbrush obviates the above-mentioned drawbacks.
In order to achieve said improvements the cannula being directly fitted to the pump has been eliminated, and the present refill has been devised in such a way that it does already incorporate the cannula, this latter forming part of an open cap capping the open top of the reservoir, said original open cap having been tightly sealed at the originating site thus guaranteeing that the contained toothpaste is the original one.
Said open cap is fitted to the open top of the reservoir by means of a peripheral tongue jointing arrangement, the rear nipple of the pump being fitted in a sealing arrangement into said open cap, the toothpaste being sucked up through said rear nipple, said open cap having been provided with an orifice in order to thus facilitate the ingress of air into the reservoir.
It has also been foreseen in this toothbrush that when having run out of toothpaste the toothpaste containing reservoir can be refilled from a toothpaste supplying container, the toothbrush being for such a purpose provided with an accessory allowing to carry out said refilling operation by means of fitting an end of said accessory to the container and the opposite end of said accessory to the reservoir.
This accessory is formed by a bushing having an outer periphery end being apt to be fitted to the open tops of said reservoir and of the open cap with cannula capping it, said bushing also having a flange being apt to be abuttingly applied against said open tops.
There are two versions of said accessory, one of them allowing to fit said accessory to a conventional container and in this case axially comprising in its opening being provided to face said container a tubular projection being apt to be connected to the nipple of the container; whereas the other one is apt to be fitted to a specific container and has an abutting flange being formed by a skirt ending in a peripheral fastening catch allowing to securely fit the accessory to the neck of the container.
Another of the improvements being envisaged for the enhancement of said toothbrush consists in providing the bottom cap with a pocket being apt to accommodate a dental floss spool, the bottom of said cap being apt to be opened to thus facilitate the access to said dental floss and its replacement.
It has also been foreseen in this toothbrush to carry out a vacuum suction of the toothpaste being contained in the reservoir (airless operation), this being achieved either by having the toothpaste contained in a flexible bag being introduced in the reservoir or by arranging a piston at the bottom of said reservoir.